1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is the game of poker, and in particular to methods and devices for playing a poker game involving a combination of insurance and equity splitting.
2. Background of the Invention
Poker is generally considered to be a game where skilled players have a statistical and strategic advantage over lesser skilled players, due in part to certain players' mental ability to calculate their odds of winning a particular hand.
However, in a given poker hand, only one player wins. This all-or-nothing method of awarding pots increases statistical variance. For a given playing bankroll, all-or-nothing awards make it more likely that a player will go broke. For example, a player with superior skill and even a markedly stronger initial hand may nonetheless suffer a “bad beat” despite having played his hand perfectly. A series of such bad beats can break even a superior player with a statistically adequate bankroll. Broke players cannot play, so the all-or-nothing way of awarding pots means that, on average, players play fewer pots and do not last as long as they would with a different way of awarding the pot. This is bad for both the player and the casino. Casinos typically generate revenue from poker games by collecting “rake,” usually defined as a fee based on time played or on the size of the pot. Fewer hands played means less revenue generated from casino-operated poker games.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods enabling a poker player to limit losses or protect potential winnings on a given hand prior to awarding the pot in such a hand based upon his calculated percentage chance of winning the hand, which is called pot equity.
The use of wager insurance has also been contemplated in poker and other types of gaming beyond blackjack. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,148 to Saruwatari discloses an insurance feature in a method for playing a live game between a player and a dealer using a standard deck of playing cards played on a table having a plurality of player positions and involving a community hand.
In another example, US Patent Application 20080088087 to Weitzman discloses wager insurance for a game of No-Limit Texas Hold 'em poker provided to allow players to “hedge their bets” to limit the downside of losing a large bet through the provision of the ability to purchase, from the house, an insurance policy. The premium paid for the insurance policy is calculated by the house taking into account such factors as (a) the amount bet, (b) the strength of the player's hand, and (c) the status of the hand, that is, how far along in the hand the insurance is requested, in terms of how many of the sequence of steps in playing the hand have occurred.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,585,222 to Muir discloses a gaming device having a game that includes several nearly missed outcomes associated with a designated outcome, where the player is provided an award for achieving a nearly missed outcome. If the player obtains the nearly missed outcome, the award is provided from a near miss insurance pool. Therefore, when a player nearly misses achieving a large jackpot, the gaming device provides the player with insurance payoff. In general, the near miss insurance pool is funded from a portion of each wager, and may be funded by several linked gaming devices.
Existing prior art tends to be limited to live or in-casino networked games, and/or limited to a variation applicable to only a single type of game.
What is needed is an automatic equity calculation function, paired with (i) an option to purchase insurance against loss and/or (ii) an option to split a pot based on equity percentages before a hand's conclusion, to provide poker players with options to reduce statistical variance and protect themselves against bad beats, thereby extending their length of pay and total amounts wagered.